Flash-light attachment for firearms.



E.. M'. HENDERSON 8L F. C. NEET.

. FLASH LIGHT ATTACHMENT FOR FIHEARMS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE l5 T917- Patented Apr. 23,1918.

AEI OFFICE.

ELBERT IVI. HENDERSON AND FRED C. NEET, OF GLENDORA, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNORS 0F ONE-HALF TO WILLIAM T. HENDERSON, OF PASADENA, CALIFORNIA, AND ONE- I-IALF T0 IVIABELLE R. N EET, OF GLENDORA, CALIFORNIA.

FLASH-LIGHT ATTACHMENT FOR FIREARMS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 23, 1918.

Application filed .Tune 15, 1917. Serial No. 175,007.

T0 all whom t may concern.' p

Be it known that we, ELBERT M. HENDER- soN and FRED C. Niin'r, citizens of the United States, residing at Glendora, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flash-Light Attachments for Firearms; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a new and useful flashlight attachment for firearms and is primarily designed for use in connection with pistols and so associated therewith as to project rays of light upon the object to be shot at and having actuating mechanisms so positioned upon the pistol or other firearm that a flashlight can be produced by the pressure of one of the fingers of the hand which grasps the pistol and without interfering with the trigger finger of the persons hand.

A further aim of this invention is to provide a device for readily projecting rays of light into the trajectory of the firearm in an efficient and accurate manner, and at the same time to provide the device with means whereby the direction of the rays of light may be varied in accordance with the varying trajectories of firearms.

Another aim of this invention is to provide a flashlight attachment for firearms so mounted thereon as to practically appear as a component part of the firearm and finished in accordance with the finishing of the parts of the firearm.

Another aim of this invention is to provide a device with the above objects in view, which may be readily applied to the firearms now in use or Awhich may be made a part of the firearm during its course of manufacture, and which device is simple in construction, efficient in operation, presenting a neat appearance when mounted upon a firearm, and can be manufactured and. sold upon the market at a nominal cost.

These and other objects and advantages will more fully appear as the natu`ie-of the invention is more clearly understood from the following description taken in connection with the drawing which discloses one embodiment of the invention, but which is susceptible to variations and modifications therein to meet the exigencies of the case without departing from the spirit of the invention or exceeding the scope of the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure l represents a side elevation, partly in section, of a firearm showing the application of the invention.

Fig. 2 represents an enlarged end view of the fiashlight casing showing the means employed for varying the direction of the light in accordance with the varying trajectories of firearms.

Figs. k3, l and 5 represent diagrammatic views illustrating the varying trajectories of firearms, Figs. 4 and 5 being exaggerated, showing the adaptation of the invention to such firearms.

We desire to here state that for the sake of clearness and convenience in illustrating the novel features of our invention, the same is shown in operative position upon a pistol which may be of any of the well known types, but it is to be understood that the invention is equally applicable to other forms of firearms, the only changes necessary being in the dimensions of the parts thereof.

Referring to the drawings, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures, 1 denotes the barrel of the firearm, 2 the handle or hand grip, 3 the trigger, and 4 the trigger guard.

Suitably secured upon the barrel l of the firearm, as by the straps or bands 5, is the electric flashlight casing 6, being provided with a lens, a reector, and an electric light bulb of any well known construction, and in addition to these the casing 6 is also provided with the battery 7, the circuit of the lamp and battery being provided with the contacts 8 and 9.

The rear end of the casing 6 is provided with the substantially transverse U-shaped guard arm 10, formed of the contour of the outer surfaces of the trigger guard A and the handle or hand grip 2 of the rearm, the lower end of the guard arm 10 being secured to the forward side of the hand grip 2 by the screw 11, and also having its central port-ion secured to the trigger guard 4 through the medium of the screw 12 which projects through the contact or circuit closing lever 13 at a point substantially midway between the ends of the lever 13, the lever 13 being of such conformation as to be capable of rocking movement upon the screw 12. The contact or circuit closing lever 13 is so positioned within the guard arm 10 of the casing 6 as to be amply protected from shocks or blows by the side walls of the arm 10. The upper end of the circuit closing lever 13. is provided with the switch or bridging plate 14 adapted to bridge the gap between the contacts 8 and 9 of the battery 7 for closing the circuit to light the electric bulb within the casing 6 and which switch or bridging plate 14 is suitably insulated from the adjacent end of the lever 13 by any suitable form of insulating material indicated at 15. For normally maintaining the switch plate 14 out of engagement with the contacts 8 and 9, the spring 16 is provided between the guard arm 10 and the circuit closing lever 13, and upon the outer surface of the lower portion of the circuit closing lever 13 is provided the knob or button 17.

Upon the forward end of the flashlight casing 6 is a cap 18, positioned at any suitable distance in front of the lens, and provided with the upper shutter 19 actuated by the knob 2O projecting through the arcuate slot 21, the middle shutter 22 actuated by the knob 23 projecting through the arcuate slot 24, and the lower shutter 25 actuated by the knob 26 projecting through the arcuate slot 27.

In Figs. 3, 4 and 5 is illustrated the application of the invention to firearms of varying trajectories, for example, in Fig. 3 the firearm 30 has a substantially straight trajectory indicated by the line 31 terminating at the mark or object, as at 32, and in this instance the rays of light, indicated by the lines 33, project through the opening in the upper shutter 19 which is shown half open in Fig. 2 of the drawings. In Fig. 4, the invention is shown applied to the firearm 34 whose trajectory, indicated by the line 35, is arcuate in its course to the mark or object 36, and in this instance the rays of light, indicated by the lines 37, projectl through the opening in the middle shutter 22 which is shown half open in Fig. 2 of the drawings. In Fig. 5, the invention is shown applied to the firearm 38 whose trajectory, indicated by the line 39, is of greater curvature in reaching the mark or object 40 than the trajectory 35 of the firearm 34 shown in Fig. 4, and in this instance the rays of light, indicated by the lines 41, project through the opening in the lower shutter 25 which is shown half open in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

While the trajectory 35 of the firearm 34 of Fig. 4 and the trajectory4 39 of the firearm 38 of Fig. 5 have been somewhat exaggerated, this has been resorted to to better illustrate the application of the invention to firearms of varying trajectories and also the employment of the respective shutters 19, 22 and 25 of the cap 18 of the flashlight casing 6 for varying the projection of Athe-rays of light so as to project them into the trajectory and upon the mark or object to be shot at when the invention has been associated with the respective firearms 30, 34 and 38 each having a trajectory varying from the other, and while the shutters 19, 22 and 25 are shown as half open, these shutters may be thrown wide open, if desired, for widening the rays of light in a transverse direction, it being understood, of course, that one or more of the shutters may be closed or opened as desired, or all may be opened in order to give a more or less wider range of light, however, under ordinary circumstances, only one of the respective shutters is to be opened and that in accordance with the trajectory of the firearms, which trajectory can be readily determined with little practice.

From the foregoing it will be seen that we are able to produce a flashlight attachment for firearms, especially pistols, whereby the person using the pistol is only required to use one hand, thereby leaving the other hand free and not requiring the use of both hands is the case with the devices now in common use, because after the shutter or shutters at the forward end of the flashlight cas ing 6 have been properly adjusted in accordance with the trajectory or range of the firearm, the person Vusing the pistol will press the button 17 with, say, the second finger of the right hand against the spring 16, thereby rocking the circuit closing lever 13 upon the screw 12 and causing the contact plate to engage and bridge the contacts 8 and 9 of the battery 7 and lamp and close a circuit for causing a light to be flashed through a shutter and upon the mark or object to be shot at, and instantaneously thereafter, should occasion require, the person will pull the trigger 3 0f the firearm with his trigger or first finger for ring the firearm, the bullet therefrom being projected along the respective trajectory of the firearm and hitting the mark or object substantially centrally of the rays of light shining upon the mark or object to be hit, and thereafter as soon as the second finger has been released from the button or knob 17 of the circuit closing lever 13, the spring 16 will force the lower end of the lever 13 outwardly and break the connection between the contacts 8 and 9 of the battery 7 and the flashlight will thereby be extinguished. l

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isz- 1. An illuminating attachment for firearms comprising an electric lamp casing secured under the barrel of the firearm, circuit wires for the lamp and battery, contacts projecting beyond the rear end of the casing, a trigger lever pivotally attached to the trigger guard, a bridge plate on the upper front end of the trigger lever for closing the circuit at the contacts, insulatin material between the trigger lever an the bridge plate, and a spring for normally holding the bridge plate away from the contacts.

2. An illuminating attachment for firearms, comprising an electric light casing secured under the barrel of the firearm, means for making and breaking the circuit through the lamp, a cap on the front end of the casing having a plurality of openings at different positions vertically and a shutter for each opening for closing, or wholly or partially opening such openings.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

ELBERT M. HENDERSON. FRED C. NEET.

Witnesses:

A. E. ENGELHARDT, M. A. MARsToN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C."

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